[Peripheral and spinal pathways involved in diffuse inhibitory controls induced by noxious stimulation. Neurosurgical...

Electrophysiological recordings were made from spinal and trigeminal dorsal horn convergent neurones which allowed the investigation of some mechanisms underlying Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls (D.N.I.C.) to be made. These controls are exclusively triggered by the activation of A delta and/or C peripheral fibres and involve a supraspinal loop. The ascending and descending parts of the looped pathway are confined within the anterolateral quadrants and the posterolateral funiculi respectively.